A voucher. Wha? Twenty bucks later, I had a little receipt looking thing in my hand and 5 minutes left to place a bet. Bugle Sam is bugling away, and I’m starting to sweat because I need to touch some icons on the screen, pronto. I end up selecting a couple horses at random, $1.00 bet, and…

I ended up winning $4.80 which I quickly spent on a medium iced mocha latte at Dunkin’. In between races, I strolled around, marveling at all of the food, the quick glimpses of horses and jockeys as they exited the dressing rooms, scoping out dresses and hats – and we can’t forget about the fascinators. There were a couple of ladies rocking the fascinators, which I loved. A lady sporting a hugely beautiful white feathery hat complimented my little $7 fedora by stating that I looked “very chic” – this exchange took place in the hot dog line.

I won another $4 later in the day, all because I bet the horse in hot pink and kelly green would win. Apparently the horse in the hot pink and kelly green was the clear favorite, so I hung my head in shame when the cashier counted back four-one dollar bills to me.

By the end of the afternoon, I was used to the racetrack grind – I still didn’t have a good handle on how to read all of the stats in the program, but I didn’t feel quite so new by Race 10. I bet everything I had left on It’s Tricky, which is totally how I felt about the betting thing to begin with. In the end, I had a fantastic time, and standing at the Winner’s Circle for the Alabama Stakes was a real treat; I took a ton of fantastic photos and had a great time with my husband and our lovely, patient, kind friends.

Stephanie, one thing…..You corrected yourself later in the post, but when referring to the track, it’s bet, not bid. If you go to an auction, that’s when you bid. That’s a way that someone can tell them you aren’t from here, when you say you are going to go place a bid on a horse…either that, or you got a crapload of money.

Donald, you are being picky but it’s ok – please be aware that when I switch over to the dialect that WV residents have been stereotyped with, I’m not to be taken seriously. Of course I know that there is horse racing in west Virginia; however, I grew up far, far away from it. Google Cowen, West Virginia :). And don’t get lost there! Ha